What are some of the "smaller" loose ends in ASoIaF you'd like to see get wrapped up before the series ends? Anything you're afraid GRRM may have forgotten about himself, and worried he may not wrap up for us? Let's list things here, and start discussing! LizeL0H
Some things that come to mind:
•how did Jaqen recognize Arya? •what happened to Benjen? •who is Coldhands? •Is Blackfish coming back? •who is the hooded man in WF? (Ok, maybe not so minor) •what does Hodor mean? •what happened to Tyrek Lannister? •who or what is Patchface? •which hand built the passage to the brothel? •where do whores go? •Skagos: what's the deal? •what does Jaqen want at the Citadel •who is the ghost of high heart?
“Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.” ― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
Going to go ahead and add the Ghost of High Heart to this list
Why not just update the list then? And bullet point them maybe?
Bullet points!
“Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.” ― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
“Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.” ― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
Tyrion had read much and more of dragons through the years. The greater part of those accounts were idle tales and could not be relied on, and the books that Illyrio had provided them were not the ones he might have wished for. What he really wanted was the complete text of The Fires of the Freehold, Galendro's history of Valyria. No complete copy was known to Westeros, however; even the Citadel's lacked twenty-seven scrolls. They must have a library in Old Volantis, surely. I may find a better copy there, if I can find a way inside the Black Walls to the city's heart. He was less hopeful concerning Septon Barth's Dragons, Wyrms, and Wyverns: Their Unnatural History. Barth had been a blacksmith's son who rose to be King's Hand during the reign of Jaehaerys the Conciliator. His enemies always claimed he was more sorcerer than septon. Baelor the Blessed had ordered all Barth's writings destroyed when he came to the Iron Throne. Ten years ago, Tyrion had read a fragment of Unnatural History that had eluded the Blessed Baelor, but he doubted that any of Barth's work had found its way across the narrow sea. And of course there was even less chance of his coming on the fragmentary, anonymous, blood-soaked tome sometimes called Blood and Fire and sometimes The Death of Dragons, the only surviving copy of which was supposedly hidden away in a locked vault beneath the Citadel. When the Halfmaester appeared on deck, yawning, the dwarf was writing down what he recalled concerning the mating habits of dragons, on which subject Barth, Munkun, and Thomax held markedly divergent views. Haldon stalked to the stern to piss down at the sun where it shimmered on the water, breaking apart with every puff of wind. "We should reach the junction with the Noyne by evening, Yollo," the Halfmaester called out.
Were the Braavosi the ones who were descendants of the Valyrian slaves? Then they'd hate dragons. However, Jaqen was on his way to the Citadel before the dragons were hatched- if he was in the dungeons in GOT before Dany hatched hers.
“Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.” ― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
Were the Braavosi the ones who were descendants of the Valyrian slaves? Then they'd hate dragons. However, Jaqen was on his way to the Citadel before the dragons were hatched- if he was in the dungeons in GOT before Dany hatched hers.
Yea they probably don't like dragons too much. It is hard to say because we don't know for sure the exact timeline. To me the whole Jaqen in the dungeons and then going with the Nights Watch group is confusing, he couldn't have known that the group was going to be attacked by the gold cloaks. I think he was on a different mission and after he completed that mission he went to the Citadel with a different mission/goal possibly after Dany's dragons came forth. Because we only know that in the time between the end of ACOK he went from Harrenal and then shows up again in the Prologue in AFFC in Oldtown. I personally think he was given a mission in that in between time and that mission is to get the key that opens all the doors in the Citadel maybe to get that book.
HA! The book talk made me remember one: What were some of the books in the libraries of Winterfell and the Wall that even the Citadel doesn't have? In particular, the ones Aemon took on the journey to Oldtown.
And I think this:
He was less hopeful concerning Septon Barth's Dragons, Wyrms, and Wyverns: Their Unnatural History. Barth had been a blacksmith's son who rose to be King's Hand during the reign of Jaehaerys the Conciliator. His enemies always claimed he was more sorcerer than septon. Baelor the Blessed had ordered all Barth's writings destroyed when he came to the Iron Throne. Ten years ago, Tyrion had read a fragment of Unnatural History that had eluded the Blessed Baelor, but he doubted that any of Barth's work had found its way across the narrow sea. And of course there was even less chance of his coming on the fragmentary, anonymous, blood-soaked tome sometimes called Blood and Fire and sometimes The Death of Dragons, the only surviving copy of which was supposedly hidden away in a locked vault beneath the Citadel.
goes with this:
The hardest part had been getting down on his hands and knees to pull the strongbox from underneath Archmaester Walgrave’s bed. Though the box was stoutly made and bound with iron, its lock was broken. Maester Gormon had suspected Pate of breaking it, but that wasn’t true. Walgrave had broken the lock himself, after losing the key that opened it.
Inside, Pate had found a bag of silver stags, a lock of yellow hair tied up in a ribbon, a painted miniature of a woman who resembled Walgrave (even to her mustache), and a knight’s gauntlet made of lobstered steel. The gauntlet had belonged to a prince, Walgrave claimed, though he could no longer seem to recall which one. When Pate shook it, the key fell out onto the floor.
If I pick that up, I am a thief, he remembered thinking. The key was old and heavy, made of black iron; supposedly it opened every door at the Citadel. Only the archmaesters had such keys. The others carried theirs upon their person or hid them away in some safe place, but if Walgrave had hidden his, no one would ever have seen it again.
The million dollar question though, is why "Pate" is still lingering around the Citadel after finding the key. Was it not the right one? Is he planning to facejack Marwyn and head toward Dany?
All in all, I'm liking more and more the idea that the FM and the Citadel have a business arrangement going on.
I'm pretty sure the Blackfish is with the BwB, or about to join them.
He held Riverrun under siege for a year, under constant threat to Edmure's life, but then he suddenly surrendered the castle after one night's talk with Edmure. We could argue Edmure had compelling reasons to advise surrender because of Jaime's threats to his unborn child, but would it matter to Brynden? Something more important happened, however, which I think definitely changed Brynden's mind. Jaime unknowingly left Edmure alone with Tom of Sevenstreams for a while, and Tom certainly told Edmure something which he later passed to the Blackfish.
So, one day Blackfish stubbornly holds the castle with no chance to win, seemingly out of sheer spite, and the following night he suddenly disappears. It's as if he has been informed that something important is going on elsewhere, something more important than holding Riverrun.
Maybe he even was already in touch with the Brotherhood, and Jaime just gave them a convenient way to communicate a message like "it's time". In general, Tom's presence at Riverrun is of enormous importance, I believe. We all know it was he who tipped the BwB off about ser Ryman's departure to the Twins, which resulted in the latter's execution and retrieval of Robb's crown (which, by the way, Jaime had ordered ser Ryman to leave behind, did Frey just disobey the order?). But could he also communicate with the river lords, unwillingly participating in the siege? Remember how Karyl Vance told Jaime that Tytos Blackwood would surrender Raventree Hall to him personally? This led to Jaime traveling to Raventree, and there, in Blackwood lands, he was found by Brienne, as ordered by Lady Stoneheart. Convenient, isn't it?
What exactly is the Blackfish currently up to, I couldn't say. Probably he's going to free Edmure on the way to Casterly Rock. Or there's some other work for him to do. But I am absolutely convinced it has something to do with the BwB/Lady Stoneheart.
Not sure how to specifically tag/drag posts, but in response to some of the Questions posted initially on this thread (July 23, 2015 post at the top):
•what happened to Benjen? •who is Coldhands? - Wasn't it largely speculated that Benjen is Coldhands? Or was that theory killed by GRRM himself? I can't remember, but it makes sense. Benjen has been missing awhile (like early in the first book IRRC); unless he's being held captive somewhere, he has to be dead/white walker'd.
•Is Blackfish coming back? - He has to. I don't remember if he was built up as this awesome badass in the books (it's been a few years since I read the first few) but the show def built him up as such. He's one of those wild card fringe characters that could have a big impact on the story still, or who could show up again only to be killed (which would add some badassness to whoever does it).
•who is the hooded man in WF? - I've been very interested in this question since I first read ADWD. Could this be Blackfish or Benjen? No real weight behind that guess; currently re-reading ADWD. Freys and Boltons have a lot of enemies. He didn't kill Theon/Reek though, which could be telling.
•who or what is Patchface? - Another very interesting topic to me since his first appearance (in the 2nd book I believe). He's f*cking creepy as hell, seems to foreshadow some events and, most telling, creeps the hell out of Melissandre (she said he had a bloody mouth or something in her visions). I've wondered if he has some bigger role in the future plot, or if he's just a creepy red herring. My cousin, who's much more of a GoT fan than me, thinks he's just a red herring. Since the show disregarded him completely, I tend to agree, but who knows. Still so creepy.
Not sure how to specifically tag/drag posts, but in response to some of the Questions posted initially on this thread (July 23, 2015 post at the top):
•what happened to Benjen? •who is Coldhands? - Wasn't it largely speculated that Benjen is Coldhands? Or was that theory killed by GRRM himself? I can't remember, but it makes sense. Benjen has been missing awhile (like early in the first book IRRC); unless he's being held captive somewhere, he has to be dead/white walker'd.
•Is Blackfish coming back? - He has to. I don't remember if he was built up as this awesome badass in the books (it's been a few years since I read the first few) but the show def built him up as such. He's one of those wild card fringe characters that could have a big impact on the story still, or who could show up again only to be killed (which would add some badassness to whoever does it).
•who is the hooded man in WF? - I've been very interested in this question since I first read ADWD. Could this be Blackfish or Benjen? No real weight behind that guess; currently re-reading ADWD. Freys and Boltons have a lot of enemies. He didn't kill Theon/Reek though, which could be telling.
•who or what is Patchface? - Another very interesting topic to me since his first appearance (in the 2nd book I believe). He's f*cking creepy as hell, seems to foreshadow some events and, most telling, creeps the hell out of Melissandre (she said he had a bloody mouth or something in her visions). I've wondered if he has some bigger role in the future plot, or if he's just a creepy red herring. My cousin, who's much more of a GoT fan than me, thinks he's just a red herring. Since the show disregarded him completely, I tend to agree, but who knows. Still so creepy.
If you're on a computer, you should be able to highlight and the quick quote button will come up. You can do this across posts, and the quotes will save up in the reply box for when you're ready to respond.
ETA: ADWD killed the Benjen = Coldhands theory According to Leaf, Coldhands has been dead a very long time.
I have to get to work, but if this is isn't updated later, I'll look up some quotes for you.
“Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.” ― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones